For the past couple of years, I’ve been sensing an increasing excitement in the country’s local offerings. The media has been featuring OPM acts, local designers and retail stores frequently. Just when I thought patriotism was becoming more and more fashionable, designer and Fashion Institute of the Philippines design teacher John Herrera tells me otherwise.
“The more foreign the aesthetic, the more sosyal. Fashion has always been associated with status, social hierarchy.” Nevertheless, whether in design or in any other craft, the search for a truly Filipino aesthetic continues. “It’s not too late. For me, we’re on our way.” Although he personally does not favor it, he says that the feminine, dainty look akin to Hispanic designers like Carolina Herrera and Oscar dela Renta has been prevalent in the country, attributing it to wanting to live like our Spanish colonizers.
But his faith in the Filipino lies on the opposite end of the spectrum. “I think what has a chance in the global market is our cultural minorities. They have a really, really strong design aesthetic that is so neglected. They’re neglected both in their needs and their culture, so if I could educate myself about these ethnic groups I think I could do a lot of exploiting. But I don’t know how that would benefit them. Maybe if I had them produce.” John cares enough not to water down their culture into the interpretation of a fashion designer.
First Things First
Despite his effort to inject some patriotism into his work by using natural fibers, John admits he does not yet embrace an aesthetic that is distinctly Pinoy. After all, selling out is still a necessity at his stature. “I sell out every now and then because I have to pay my bills. If I do my thing all the time, I wouldn’t sell anything. I try as much as I can to educate people about experimental fashion, about not following trends, about making your own trend. But the bottom line is it will take some time. Simple cuts are easy to make, they can pay my bills, but I don’t have to be proud of them.”
He further stresses that revenue is still the main concern for any designer. Otherwise, “how can you afford to make the consumers aware of who you are and what you can do if you don’t have the financial backing?” Thankfully, his clients have been responding to his ideas, enabling him to blend unique design and wearability. “Everything is up to the designer. You have to make them [the client] believe they want it.”
Rage Against the Machine
But what do consumers want? International retail stores like Mango and Zara are raking it in with their 70% cuts during end of season sales. Even if the threat of showing up to an event in the same outfit as another guest is greater, many women are still loyal to these brands where they feel that high fashion is available to them at a relatively lower price.
John, however, isn’t fazed by this fact. “I have nothing against the McDonaldization of fashion. In fact, I think it’s good. Because as long as there’s a system, there’s something we rebels can rebel against. If everyone was you know, doing their own thing and standing out, then how can we? So as far as everyone looks the same, there’s room for us to excel, to make waves.”
And make waves, he does. With the help of the Fashion Institute of the Philippines where he was schooled three years ago when it opened, John is starting a revolution in fashion headed by their director Shanong Pamaong.
Paris-schooled Shanon aimed to update and augment the skills of local designers who were already active in the garment-making industry, citing that a thorough knowledge of making a garment from conceptualization to cutting and construction promotes confidence and self-sufficience needed for a designer to succeed. But more and more students started enrolling. So what started as a post-graduate school now accommodates aspirants who have no formal training in design or illustration.
John says that starting last year, the school has been taking on a unique advocacy by promoting wearable fashion. “Fashion you can wear on the streets. Fashion that’s educated. I think he [Shanon] is fed up with the fact that our, lately, our fashion shows have been nothing more than carnival shows, and they make clothes merely for entertainment. I think our director lately has been channeling everyone to think otherwise, to make designs that people can wear and can actually take to the streets.”
The idea is to demonstrate that something wearable isn’t boring. In John’s fantasy fashion-literate world, people buy local designer clothes because they appreciate thoughtful and thought-provoking design. They check the trimmings and see the details that make garments special.
This romance, he says, is necessary not only to the school and its mission, but also to the progress of the Filipino design aesthetic. “Idealism and romanticism is very much needed in our very cynical industry. I think it’s very required in order for you to change things for the better. And everyone will benefit eventually. A few have come here [to the school] with that amount of cynicism in them and then they left with so much hope. Mission accomplished!”
Akin to this romance is the lesson John values the most among all that he learned at the Fashion Institute and that he teaches to his students: pay it forward. At the school, there is a feeling of welcome and friendliness that is refreshing in an industry that is superficial and cut-throat. For him, this warmth is what sets us apart from our foreign counterparts. “We should exploit the fact that we’re very emotional. I think it’s something that we can offer to the world. It’s something we have that they don’t. They have edge, they have spunk, well we have hospitality, we have warmth.” In a school where helping means training others to become self-sufficient and progressive, it can only bode well for the country’s design scene.
A Little Help, Please
But of course, one institute can’t do it alone. According to John, if there’s anyone they would like to see take some interest in the country’s design scene, it’s the government. “Any help from the government would be appreciated. People think fashion only benefits society women but it doesn’t; actually it benefits everyone. Because every aspect of society plays a role in the making of a garment.” Were designers financially equipped with grants, there would be not only a higher consciousness in craftsmanship among our citizens, but also more jobs and a healthier economic trade.
A perfect example of this kind of socio-economic awareness combined with a proud Filipino style is the work of designer Dita Sandico-Ong. “She goes abroad, she brings our natural fibers and then sells it there, which is something very admirable. She really is a philanthropist because she’s giving jobs to an entire baranggay in Catanduanes, helping them help themselves,” says John.
He adds that bringing the Filipino design aesthetic to the world entails traveling and challenging your comfort levels in foreign environments, in which Dita Sandico-Ong and Inno Sotto are commendable. On the other end of the spectrum, there is the Filipino designer who sets up shop away from home. His favorite example is Lesley Mobo, an Aklan native who is now the design director for London department store Harrod’s.
For John, however, that is not the ultimate dream. “I’d rather stay here. I don’t have anything against designers who go abroad. I think it’s an important role they play in disseminating the Philippine design aesthetic. Although, as I’ve noticed, most of the designers abroad tend to go global. Even their design aesthetic, they try to keep up with the international trends. It’s like taking a fish out of its natural habitat. You know, it’s a bigger aquarium, maybe it’s a more fabulous aquarium, but it’s not your home. It’s not where you’re from. Here you don’t even have to be, you just… are.” I guess that’s all we Filipinos really need.
“The more foreign the aesthetic, the more sosyal. Fashion has always been associated with status, social hierarchy.” Nevertheless, whether in design or in any other craft, the search for a truly Filipino aesthetic continues. “It’s not too late. For me, we’re on our way.” Although he personally does not favor it, he says that the feminine, dainty look akin to Hispanic designers like Carolina Herrera and Oscar dela Renta has been prevalent in the country, attributing it to wanting to live like our Spanish colonizers.
But his faith in the Filipino lies on the opposite end of the spectrum. “I think what has a chance in the global market is our cultural minorities. They have a really, really strong design aesthetic that is so neglected. They’re neglected both in their needs and their culture, so if I could educate myself about these ethnic groups I think I could do a lot of exploiting. But I don’t know how that would benefit them. Maybe if I had them produce.” John cares enough not to water down their culture into the interpretation of a fashion designer.
First Things First
Despite his effort to inject some patriotism into his work by using natural fibers, John admits he does not yet embrace an aesthetic that is distinctly Pinoy. After all, selling out is still a necessity at his stature. “I sell out every now and then because I have to pay my bills. If I do my thing all the time, I wouldn’t sell anything. I try as much as I can to educate people about experimental fashion, about not following trends, about making your own trend. But the bottom line is it will take some time. Simple cuts are easy to make, they can pay my bills, but I don’t have to be proud of them.”
He further stresses that revenue is still the main concern for any designer. Otherwise, “how can you afford to make the consumers aware of who you are and what you can do if you don’t have the financial backing?” Thankfully, his clients have been responding to his ideas, enabling him to blend unique design and wearability. “Everything is up to the designer. You have to make them [the client] believe they want it.”
Rage Against the Machine
But what do consumers want? International retail stores like Mango and Zara are raking it in with their 70% cuts during end of season sales. Even if the threat of showing up to an event in the same outfit as another guest is greater, many women are still loyal to these brands where they feel that high fashion is available to them at a relatively lower price.
John, however, isn’t fazed by this fact. “I have nothing against the McDonaldization of fashion. In fact, I think it’s good. Because as long as there’s a system, there’s something we rebels can rebel against. If everyone was you know, doing their own thing and standing out, then how can we? So as far as everyone looks the same, there’s room for us to excel, to make waves.”
And make waves, he does. With the help of the Fashion Institute of the Philippines where he was schooled three years ago when it opened, John is starting a revolution in fashion headed by their director Shanong Pamaong.
Paris-schooled Shanon aimed to update and augment the skills of local designers who were already active in the garment-making industry, citing that a thorough knowledge of making a garment from conceptualization to cutting and construction promotes confidence and self-sufficience needed for a designer to succeed. But more and more students started enrolling. So what started as a post-graduate school now accommodates aspirants who have no formal training in design or illustration.
John says that starting last year, the school has been taking on a unique advocacy by promoting wearable fashion. “Fashion you can wear on the streets. Fashion that’s educated. I think he [Shanon] is fed up with the fact that our, lately, our fashion shows have been nothing more than carnival shows, and they make clothes merely for entertainment. I think our director lately has been channeling everyone to think otherwise, to make designs that people can wear and can actually take to the streets.”
The idea is to demonstrate that something wearable isn’t boring. In John’s fantasy fashion-literate world, people buy local designer clothes because they appreciate thoughtful and thought-provoking design. They check the trimmings and see the details that make garments special.
This romance, he says, is necessary not only to the school and its mission, but also to the progress of the Filipino design aesthetic. “Idealism and romanticism is very much needed in our very cynical industry. I think it’s very required in order for you to change things for the better. And everyone will benefit eventually. A few have come here [to the school] with that amount of cynicism in them and then they left with so much hope. Mission accomplished!”
Akin to this romance is the lesson John values the most among all that he learned at the Fashion Institute and that he teaches to his students: pay it forward. At the school, there is a feeling of welcome and friendliness that is refreshing in an industry that is superficial and cut-throat. For him, this warmth is what sets us apart from our foreign counterparts. “We should exploit the fact that we’re very emotional. I think it’s something that we can offer to the world. It’s something we have that they don’t. They have edge, they have spunk, well we have hospitality, we have warmth.” In a school where helping means training others to become self-sufficient and progressive, it can only bode well for the country’s design scene.
A Little Help, Please
But of course, one institute can’t do it alone. According to John, if there’s anyone they would like to see take some interest in the country’s design scene, it’s the government. “Any help from the government would be appreciated. People think fashion only benefits society women but it doesn’t; actually it benefits everyone. Because every aspect of society plays a role in the making of a garment.” Were designers financially equipped with grants, there would be not only a higher consciousness in craftsmanship among our citizens, but also more jobs and a healthier economic trade.
A perfect example of this kind of socio-economic awareness combined with a proud Filipino style is the work of designer Dita Sandico-Ong. “She goes abroad, she brings our natural fibers and then sells it there, which is something very admirable. She really is a philanthropist because she’s giving jobs to an entire baranggay in Catanduanes, helping them help themselves,” says John.
He adds that bringing the Filipino design aesthetic to the world entails traveling and challenging your comfort levels in foreign environments, in which Dita Sandico-Ong and Inno Sotto are commendable. On the other end of the spectrum, there is the Filipino designer who sets up shop away from home. His favorite example is Lesley Mobo, an Aklan native who is now the design director for London department store Harrod’s.
For John, however, that is not the ultimate dream. “I’d rather stay here. I don’t have anything against designers who go abroad. I think it’s an important role they play in disseminating the Philippine design aesthetic. Although, as I’ve noticed, most of the designers abroad tend to go global. Even their design aesthetic, they try to keep up with the international trends. It’s like taking a fish out of its natural habitat. You know, it’s a bigger aquarium, maybe it’s a more fabulous aquarium, but it’s not your home. It’s not where you’re from. Here you don’t even have to be, you just… are.” I guess that’s all we Filipinos really need.
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